Report: Florida cornerback is set to re-enter the transfer portal

Five-star cornerback prospect from the 2019 recruiting class Elijah Blades thought he found his new home in Florida with the Gators. But according to 247 Sports, the corner has re-entered the transfer portal and is back looking for a new place to play.

The six-foot-two corner from Pasadena CA, signed with the Texas A&M Aggies in 2018 and enrolled in the school the following summer. But after just one year with the Aggies, Blades opted to use the transfer portal as a grad student to land in Florida for the 2021 season. And in that one season at Texas A&M he had 19 total tackles, 15 solos, three pass deflections, and 1.5 sacks.

Because of the 2020 shorten COVID-19 season, Blades has the opportunity to play one more season before deciding whether to declare for the NFL Draft. Players were given an extra year of availability, regardless of whether they sat out the entire 2020 season or not.

Back in October, Blades entered the transfer portal then after appearing in just three games for the Gators. Then Flordia head coach Dan Mullen said that he was dismissed from the team at that time. In those three games, he had just three total tackles, two solo, and a pass deflection. Blades withdrew his transfer request in early November, but has sea-sawed back into the portal. Whether it happened back then and is happening again now, the former Aggie and now former Gator is looking for a new home.

Transfer portal background information 

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be  contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.